Nifty reclaims 9,500, gains 149 points, pharma takes a hit

The benchmark Nifty reclaimed 9,500 today as it recovered 149 points to settle above the milestone at 9,509.75, spurred by buying in banking, amid positive global stocks.
The minutes from the US central bank's May 2-3 policy meeting, according to traders, were in large part responsible for the sudden spike in enthusiasm. This prompted investors to cover their short bets as Thursday was the last day for May futures and options contracts.
However, pharma declined for the second consecutive session on the back of a weak sectoral outlook.
Overseas, European shares were trading higher. The UK economy slowed more sharply than first thought in the first quarter, according to a fresh estimate today.

Asian stocks ended higher after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting gave rise to uncertainty over the next US rate hike.
The NSE 50-share Nifty index opened higher at 9,384.05 and hovered between 9,523.30 and 9,379.20 before finishing at 9,509.75, a rise of 149.20 points, or 1.59 per cent.

It saw an intra-day movement of about 144.10 points.
Sector-wise, banks rose 2.90 per cent, IT 2.18 per cent, realty 2.10 per cent and infra 2.07 per cent. However, pharma continued its downtrend as it fell by another 2.62 per cent.
In broader market, mid-caps too bounced back after days of correction. Mid-cap and small-cap indices went up by 1.31 per cent and 2.92 per cent, respectively.

Major index gainers were Larsen and Toubro (4.78 per cent), Bank of Baroda (3.33 per cent) and ICICI Bank (3.31 per cent).
Lupin fell 7.20 per cent while other notable losers were Dr Reddy's (3.73 per cent), Cipla (2.88 per cent) and Sun Pharma 1.41 per cent).
A total of 1,237 scrips advanced and 424 declined. Total securities that hit their price bands were 149.
Turnover in the cash segment fell to Rs 35,128.07 crore, from Rs 27,370.92 crore yesterday.
The market capitalisation of listed firms on the NSE stood at Rs 1,06,64,615 crore.